


Heroes of Ages New

by ProngsAndPens



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fareeha's a modern-day arthur, and dragons, happy valentine's day, modern-day medieval au, there's tech and magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 23:35:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13669650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProngsAndPens/pseuds/ProngsAndPens
Summary: Fareeha grew up with Reinhardt's stories, with magical creatures and wizards and righteous heroes. When the world as she knows it changes, then, a hero is what she'll be. But not alone.





	Heroes of Ages New

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pippintully](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pippintully/gifts).



> This is made as a secret Valentine present to @pippintully. I hope you like it, and happy Valentine's day! :)

Fareeha had heard Reinhardt’s stories, of course.

 

Tales of a time long gone, of legends treading the line between real history and fiction, relating the values behind the armour he wore, the ones he swore by. She’d spent plenty of nights, as a child, listening to how brave people like him, Balderich, her mother, or their colleagues, laid down their lives to make the world a better place. A safer one so that children like her could grow up in peace and prosperity. How younger ones, like Lena, found their way – and family – with the same people, fighting for the same ideals.

 

He’d told her about knights, faeries, dragons, and magic. From the various people at Overwatch and all the places they came from, she’d listened intently to them, from the Arthurian legends to the gods of the steppes in Asia, present in all the nature around. Her mother told her of Egyptian gods, of Ra the father of all the pantheon. She learned of Odin and of Zeus, of their similarities but also of their differences.

 

* * *

 

 

When Fareeha came of age, a righteous and brave heart beating in her chest, she left for the army to help protect the world, her soul strong enough to make her a legend, if the world still had space for them.

 

What she didn’t expect, however, is for the stories to be true.

 

* * *

 

 

It started as another odd story in a journal. Sightings of dragons and magic-wielders. It was quickly brushed off as an odd person’s hallucination, but eventually they had to reconsider. When a full army squad went missing, news started to spread like wildfire, and training became different. Instead of fighting other humanoids, people now had to fight monsters of old.

 

The one thing they had going for them, though, is their weapons. Dragons in the ancient tales faced off against humans on horses, with a shield and a sword, usually as enchanted as the armour they would don. Fareeha wore armour, yes, but while it wasn’t enchanted, it definitely was powerful. Swords and shields, arrows, bolts, spears, and maces, they had been replaced by new weapons, with a similar fire to the one that the creatures were breathing.

 

Then cultists got in the mix and it got messy.

 

Bullets did hardly any damage to wizards with barriers against projectiles or enchanted bulletproof technology, and humankind had long since nearly forgotten the art of hand-to-hand combat, relying as it was to the much more powerful options.

 

Fareeha hadn’t.

 

Donning her usual armour, she now made sure to carry a sword along with her rocket launcher, safely tucked away between the wings of her jetpack. A Khopesh, in fact, the historical weapon that her Egyptian ancestors used. Her squad flew around, which made it harder for anyone to hit, and it gave them an edge against some of the foes they faced.

 

* * *

 

 

Fareeha became a hero much like the figures of old, nicknamed Pharah in echo to Egypt’s former leaders, and she did end up fighting dragons. But the creatures seemed there to stay, never gone, never leaving the world at peace. Fareeha left Helix to deal with the everyday threats, as unnatural as they now were, and sought out a new team to watch over the world and deal with the bigger fish.

 

She caught one in Dorado, a rogue seeking personal benefit and information, capable of hacking anything, enchanted or not. She carried a powerful gun and could teleport back to certain places, two daggers hidden behind her back. Her humour was sarcastic, and she always seemed to know more than anyone facing her. Fareeha eventually managed to convince her to follow, if only to get closer to the more powerful forces at play in the world. They never truly earned each other’s trust, but they had each other’s back. Her name was Olivia, but she called herself Sombra, the shadow, since she could slip in and out of places unnoticed, always able to take what she wanted. Her victims always understood too late. Fareeha was unsure at first, but Olivia eventually proved that she was fighting the good fight as well.

 

One day, Fareeha was badly injured, and Sombra, carried her to a secret place she’d found. It had taken her a while, but when she walked through the wooden door, struggling under Fareeha’s weight combined with her armour, the beasts that followed them were stopped, and in her haze Fareeha swore she heard the cracking of wood and metallic clunks right before yelps of pain from the foes. A yellow light surrounded her and the pain disappeared, her wounds cured in an instant. When she fully awoke, blue eyes and blonde hair were staring at her, slowly descending, drifting weightlessly in leather and steel armour. Fareeha met Angela, a cleric of life and light. It took some convincing for the woman to accept truly stepping out of the shadows where she was fighting the good fight, but eventually the duo became a trio.

 

* * *

 

 

They were powerful, it was true, and rose up to meet challenges ever-growing each time, bolstered by Fareeha’s leadership. But it wasn’t enough. They were only three, and while Angela – Mercy, as they dubbed her – could heal them, they never had true protection.

 

Until one day, when they stood in front of a force bigger than they’d ever seen, cultists ready to rain fire on them, a tall blue ellipse appeared in front of them.

 

Pharah had gotten in front of both her companions, using her armour to protect them while Mercy struggled to heal al three, burning through her magic so fast that beads of sweat were dripping down her forehead and along her tousled hair, her hands shaking under the effort. The ellipse appeared out of thin air, and they braced themselves as the strikes were almost hitting them, but nothing happened.

 

A woman was standing in front of the soldier, the blue glow of a barrier emanating from her hand, shielding them from all damage like a capsule of safety and respite. Another spell from the brown-skinned mage, whose clever, piercing gaze was fixed into Fareeha’s, and a part of the blue glow emanated from their armour. Finally protected and with newfound bravery thanks to their unexpected ally, they braced themselves to keep going.

 

A wave of her hands, and the spellcaster threw a ball of energy at their foes. Should any get too close, and she could inflict deep wounds into them. Pharah and Sombra handled the assault, while Mercy and the other stood a little farther behind, the blonde woman still carving a path with scary efficiency, when anyone managed to survive long enough to get in range.

 

* * *

 

 

Standing victorious, Fareeha took off her helmet and went up to the newcomer, extending her hand to greet her.

 

“I have to thank you. This would have been far uglier had you not been there. All three of us owe you a lot. I’m Fareeha Amari, but they call me-” She started, but was interrupted.

“Pharah, yes, I know. You are a figurehead. I am Satya Vaswani, but there are some who call me Symmetra. You’ve done a lot for this world, and I have to say that I’m glad for it. There are people who try to go against every single iterance of magic that appears. You, on the other hand, let it be if it’s not harming anyone. I’m impressed.” Her brown eyes were calm, her composure perfect, and Fareeha’s respect for the woman grew every second. Finding people who could remain calm into the heat of battle was rare, and it seemed that she had managed to surround herself with them.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve heard stories of magic. It can be used in a harmful way, sure. It was by them.” She gestured around at the vanquished cultists. “But it can also be good, like what you did. I fight for justice, and it would be unjust to not dare see that.”

 

Satya bowed her head. A small, sweet smile was dancing on her lips, one that Fareeha couldn’t help but reciprocate. She shook the offered hand, hers small and slender into the soldier’s strong but careful grip. The very same night, they were four, and ready to take on whatever came, their newfound ally quiet but kind nonetheless, a focused grace in her movements that was almost hypnotising. They shared stories and company, aware of everyone’s boundaries. Satya didn’t speak much, but none of them pushed. If the conversation seemed to die down a little, Sombra or Fareeha found a way to restart it. If it got uncomfortable, Angela could always modify the topic to make it comfortable again. And, if there were some quiet moments, they weren’t uncomfortable.

 

They talked of magic, of where they came from and where they wanted to go, and shared stories much like the ones that Fareeha had grown up with –  except for the fact that, this time, some of them had actually lived through them.

 

Sombra left for the night first, needing to watch over some things and focus on several things at once, the way her mind always could. Fareeha settled with Satya, while Angela walked a little ways away to take the first watch. Fareeha was exhausted, they all were, but the cleric insisted that it was fine. Satya’s calm presence settled the soldier, and she relaxed in it, enjoying the silence.

 

They lay in the calm darkness of the night, side by side in the small room, and exchanging one last smile before both drifting off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

When she was a little girl, Fareeha listened to stories of knights, faeries, dragons, and magic. Now, those things were stories no more. They were part of her world, and were present everywhere. It was scary, at times, and most definitely dangerous, but she had at her side people who would watch over this new world alongside her. She was a hero, sure, but a hero alone struggles a lot more than a hero with friends, and she definitely had those.

 

Fighting enemies, beasts or humans, would never be easy or without risk, but they would always answer the call.

 

Together.


End file.
